Slip Into Madness
by b0rnwithwings
Summary: A little dive into what happens when Rinoa's powers begin to take over. ONE-SHOT


I don't own any of the characters or their descriptions.

She sighed as her chocolate eyes scanned the run down building in front of her. It looked like a decaying two story saloon from a Cowboy era Western movie. She could hear voices coming from inside the building but they didn't concern her. Instead Rinoa glanced over her shoulder at her companion standing a ways behind her, waiting. The woman seemed a few years older than Rinoa's 17 years but she looked worn and severe. Like life had been hard on her from day one. Rinoa was almost sure most of those hardships probably came from watching over her. The blonde haired, blue eyed woman had a bored look on her face as she turned to Rinoa. The blonde was waiting to see what the raven haired woman would do next. Rinoa wondered if the woman stayed by her side out of obligation. Was she a guardian of some sort? Or were they perhaps friends once?

Rinoa couldn't recall the woman's name. Her memory seemed to slip from her more every day. As Rinoa looked at her surroundings she realized they were on a rather small island. Through a hazy memory she remembered they had decided that she would be safest there. Or was it that everyone else would be safer if she were away from them? As she stepped towards the water a young woman with brown hair came from around the corner of the building halting her steps. The girl's bright green eyes looked sad and dulled. For some reason Rinoa thought that wasn't how they were supposed to look. For some reason she could have sworn the girl was supposed to be bubbly and ready for anything. Possibly with an explosion or two. The girl looked vaguely familiar. What was her name?

"I buried them. They deserved that much." The brunette spoke quietly. Her eyes were downcast but she kept shooting glances at Rinoa with sorrow.

The blonde nodded thoughtfully and with a little sympathy in her tone "I'm sorry you had to do that, Selphie. But thank you for giving them a proper burial." Rinoa found herself looking in the direction of the mounds of dirt Selphie had recently made. But her attention was pulled to the sound of people walking out of the door of the building. Three men walked out and strode towards the girls. The one with bleach blonde hair and a tattoo covering his face gave a quick smile to Selphie and her blonde guardian. But as his eyes landed on Rinoa she saw his smile disappear and he stepped back from the group. Maybe he was afraid? Rinoa figured that was probably wise.

Her eyes then found another man with dark blonde hair and a nasty looking scar running down his face. He was giving her guardian a once over that seemed a mixture of want and resignation. She wondered why he would look like that. Her eyes then fell on the last addition to their group and as her eyes locked on his ice blue ones, her body moved of its own accord towards him. Next thing she knew she was hugging him. She felt the warmth of his arms go around her as he hugged her in return. He placed his cheek on top of her head and she felt they had done this a million times. It was something she vaguely recognized. Fog covered memories tried to surface. Flashes of them holding hands on a sidewalk, angry voices in a heated argument, a calm presence from him and spirited comebacks from her, laughing and ghost smiles. Before she could grasp at any one memory they began to fade into the sea that was the magic she held in her. That was the one constant that was always in her mind.

The hum of her power.

It pulled at the seams of her sanity every day and never stopped. Sometimes she became exhausted from the constant fighting and she would slip and her friends, that's right, these people were her friends, would cry and hold their weapons at her throat as the bodies of strangers and acquaintances laid on the ground around her. She felt the need to protect this man from herself. She pulled back but his arms around her tightened. As her arms dropped to her side she felt his warm breath in her ear and heard him quietly say "I missed you." She had missed him too. Her Squall.

He finally let her go as he realized she stood still and just let him hug her. He pulled back to look into her warm chocolate eyes and damn near cried as he realized her eyes were once again unfocused. His Rinoa was no longer completely here. He watched as her eyes were drawn over to some mounds of dirt near the side of the building. Makeshift graves from what he could tell.

Rinoa stared at the dirt. It was a pull she couldn't explain. She never could. She heard Selphie address a man named Seifer about what was under the dirt. Seifer cursed under his breath as he turned to Squall and told him that one of the graves belonged to someone named Ellone. Rinoa found herself turning towards Squall when she hears his intake of breath. He is looking at her in a strange way now. There is so much emotion in his eyes and she isn't sure which emotions are in control. Is it hate? Remorse?

All she really knows for certain is she feels nothing for the newly displaced dirt or what lies underneath it. She looks towards the water, past the graves, and hears the hum of the water. It was calling her again. She heads towards the water as the group behind whisper about things that don't concern her. She smells the salt of their tears in the air mixing in with the salt of the ocean and for a moment she hesitates in her steps. Is she supposed to feel sad as well? Perhaps she's supposed to try to console them? But the song of the ocean tide is too strong to concentrate on anything but answering it. Her steps find themselves leaving her footprints in the dirt of the newly marked graves and behind her she hears a wail of despair from the brunette girl she can no longer remember the name of. Rinoa doesn't stop though until she's reached the edge of the where the tide comes up with each pulse of the water.

She finds herself lying on the wet sand and lets the water rush over her and feels herself being pushed away then pulled towards the ocean. Would she stop it if the water tried to claim her life? She's not sure. It seems a distant concern as she looks up at the blue sky. It's almost dusk the back of her mind notices. The small part of her that tries so hard to keep her grounded. But she doesn't see the blue sky turning orange. Her eyes start to glaze over in gold as they begin to see past the white clouds and blue atmosphere. They see the blackness of space as she's guided towards a distant star where she watches it burn. She feels the heat as it flicks towards her skin in its attempt to make her nothing but a despised memory or perhaps it's being drawn to her magic like everything else. But she isn't really here for it to harm. She blinks and she's back on the beach and her mind is in a painful tug of war. The magic demands complete obedience and ownership but the old Rinoa, the one who would rather take a hit than be the one to harm someone was terrified from that display. She was fighting the magic that was trying to take over once more. Sighing, she sits up.

She's tired but the power never sleeps and she knows that Rinoa's battle of wills with the magic is going to come to end soon and the winner has already been named.

 **Author's Notes**

This is my first fanfic. Ever. If you have any helpful hints about how to help my writing skills, I'm open to them.

As for this one-shot, I had a dream about this and instead of using myself and other people that I knew I figured it worked out rather well in regards to Rinoa's power she receives. It's strange, believe me, I know. But it was stuck in my head all day and I just needed a way to maybe work it out.

Hope you find it an interesting read!


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